maratoolSupermans
How to do the supermans
- Lie flat on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you.
- Raise your arms and legs off the floor and hold this position for 2 seconds.
- Return to the starting position on the floor.
- Repeat.
Muscles worked
The prime movers are the spinal erectors running either side of the lumbar spine, which hold the spine extended instead of letting it round under load.
Even with a single joint doing the moving, the muscle is not working alone — the abdominals brace the trunk so force can pass between the hips and the shoulders.
Every exercise for:Lower backAbdominals
How this movement works
Everything happens at one joint. That gives you direct control over where the tension sits; the trade-off is that the muscle gets no help, so the load that feels hard here is a fraction of what a multi-joint version of the pattern would take. Slow, complete repetitions beat heavy ones.
It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.
What you need
No equipment at all. The resistance is your own bodyweight, so you progress by changing leverage, range or tempo rather than by adding plates — and you can do it anywhere.
Every exercise using:Body only
These train the lower back too, using equipment this one does not:
- Weighted Ball Hyperextensionexercise ball
- Barbell Dead Liftsbarbell
- Dumbbell Dead Liftsdumbbell
- Hyperextensionsbench
- Lower Back-SMRfoam roll
Illustration: Everkinetic — CC BY-SA 4.0 — license. Modified versions are shared under the same license. Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.